Rail anchoring means



.March 17, 1942. L. SPENCER 2,276,799

RAIL ANCHORING MEANS File d Aug. 1, 1940 T TT W I I W .27

v 25 Lee 1n ventor Spencer A iiomey Patented Mar. 17, 1942 UNITED smrsrear 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a novel and improved rail and tieassembly and has more specific reference to the particular means foranchoring or fastening the rail, either directly or indirectly, to thecross-tie or equivalent foundation.

In carrying into effect the principles of the present invention I haveevolved and produced novel interlocking means interposed between therail and its foundation and functioning as a self-compensating adapter,whereby to allow slight vertical rise and fall of the rail in relationto the tie or foundation, this to permit requisite freedom of motionbetween the parts such as is considered essential toaccomplish theimproved results which I have achieved.

Broadly, therefore, in reducing to practice the improved inventiveconcept with which we are here concerned, I have chosen to utilizeinterlocking connection means providing the desired but limited playbetween the rail and tie considered essential to substantially eliminatethe objectionable floating or wave motion.

More specifically, the invention pertains to a rail foundation, either asolid or hollow tie, this serving as a seat or bed for the rail andbeing provided at a predetermined point with an upstanding abutmentshoulder at one portion and a longitudinally elongated slot, the slotbeing wide at one end and narrow at the opopsite end and having itslongitudinal edges at the narrow portion undercut to provide keyretention shoulders, the rail having a base flange equipped with a keyor equivalent element and the key fitting into the restricted or narrowportion of the slot and its longitudinal edges being constructed tocorrespond with the undercut edges, and the adjacent faces of the keyand undercut edges or s oulders being'spaced apart.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the views:

Figure l is a top plan view showing a fragmentary portion of a woodencross-tie, a tie plate thereon, the conventional rail, and the improvedfastening or anchoring means constituting the particular subject of thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the plane of the line2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional View on the planeof the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one form of tie-plate utilized incarrying into effect the instant invention.

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure 3 showing a modification, whereinthe rail rests directly on a hollow metal or equivalent tie.

By way of introduction to the detailed'description, it is to be pointedout that the invention at bar is susceptible of use and association witheither a wooden tie having a tie plate thereon,

or a specially constructed hollow metal tie. In either event, the basicprinciple of interlocking rail motion compensating means is basicallythe same.

Reference. being had to Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, the wooden cross-tiewhich is conventional, is denoted by the numeral l2. Superimposed onthis is a rectangular tie-plate l3. This plate as shown to advantage inFigure 4 has spike openings Hi and i5 located at predetermined points.At its center the tie-plate is provided with a slot. Extendingtransversely of the plate and formed integral with the upper surfacethereof is an abutment shoulder Hi. Noting the construction of the slotit will be observed that one end portion is relatively wide as at H, andthe opposite end is restricted or narrow as at 18. The longitudinal sidewalls of the restricted end portion are undercut, or bevelled, as at l9,to form retention shoulders. These shoulders serve to coact with thecorrespondingly shaped or dove-tailed rib or key 2!! on the rail 2 l.The rail is conventional, that is, comprises a base flange 22, avertical web 23 and a ball or head 24. As indicated the key or rib isdove-tailed in crosssection, that is, has bevelled edges 25, these tocoact in spaced relation with the undercut shoulders or bevels l9.Incidentally, the rib or key 26 may be formedintegral with the rail ormay be made as a separate part and bolted thereon. In any event, itslength is coextensive with the width of the base flange 22. It will benoted also that it extends at right angles to' the longitudinaldimension of the rail. It is to be noted in connection with the spikeopenings 14 and I5, that the conventional spikes 26 oocupy points ofanchorage spaced from the base flange of the rail. In other words, thespikes are merely used to secure the tie-plate l3 on the tie and not tosecure the rail on the tie-plate. The means for separably joining therail to the tie-plate is the key and keyway construction just described.This may be referred to as interlocking means.

In practice, after the tie-plate l3 has been secured on the tie I 2 asshown in Figure 2, the rail 2| (shown in dotted lines) is placed overthe tie-plate so that the key or rib 20 registers with the enlarged orentrance portion of the slot l1. Then the rail is shifted over so thatthe key slips into the keyway I 8. One longitudinal edge of the baseflange engages the abutment shoulder I6. Then the retention plate 21 isdropped into the slot l8 to function as a detent for holding the key inthe restricted portion [8 of the slot construction. This cleat or plate21 is secured in place by appropriate fastenings 28.

In the embodiment or alternate arrangement illustrated in Figure 5, thecross-tie 29 is of hollow metal construction, depicted in Figure 4, andthe slot construction is formed in the top wall 38. Otherwise, theprinciple of construction is the same and therefore a specificdescription is thought unnecessary. That is to say, all that I amattempting to illustrate in this arrangement is the fact that theinterlocking means may be directly between the tie and rail or atieplate may be utilized.

In the form of the invention described and illustrated, it will beobserved that I utilize coacting anchoring means, that is, means whichcoact between the base (made up either of the tie individually or thetie in conjunction with the tieplate) whereby to provide the desiredinterlocking effect. The point with which I am most concerned is thefact that the so-called key and keyway assembly is such that thecoacting retention shoulders or faces are spaced slightly from eachother. The degree of spacing is of course, variable, but in any event,suificient space between the parts is provided for in order to allow forthe desired play. It is this play which is the gist of th invention,since it accomplishes the desired floating freedom of the rail inrelation to th tie. Consequently, by this means I am able to overcomethe aforementioned objection and at the same time provide a constructionwhich is susceptible of reliability.

In conclusion, it is thought that the particular mode of visible andphysical expression of the invention illustrated in the drawingrepresents an assemblage which is feasible from the standpoint ofmanufacture and is aptly fitted for the intended purposes.

It is thought that the description taken in connection with the drawingwill enable a clear understanding of the invention to be had. Therefore,a more lengthy description is thought unnecessary.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that minor changes coming within thefield of invention claimed may be resorted to if desire.

I claim:

In a structure of the class described, in combination, a rail-tie, atie-plate secured thereon, said tie-plate being provided with atransverse upstanding abutment shoulder at one end portion, beingfurther provided with spike holes and a longitudinally elongated slot,the slot being wide at one end and narrow at the opposite end, the lastnamed end having undercut longitudinal edge portions functioning asretention shoulders, a rail seated on said tie-plate, the base flange ofthe rail on one side engaging the abutment shoulder, said rail beingprovided with a rib constituting a key, the rib being on the under sideof the base flange of the rail and being adapted to fit into therestricted portion of said slot, the longitudinal edges of said ribbeing beveled to coact with the undercut shoulders of the slot, thebeveled faces of the rib and coacting undercut shoulders of the slotbeing normally spaced apart in the manner and for the purposesdescribed.

LEE SPENCER.

